Mid-west Orthodox Rabbis Urge Orthodox Congregations Union

July 28, 1931

CHICAGO (Jul. 27)

“American Jewry is divided not as the result of varying intellectual convictions, but on grounds of social standing and personal convenience. This is a passing phase, the result of the unstable condition existing in our midst. It is unthinkable that this condition should crystallize into permanency. The battle for supremacy will eventually be fought on the intellectual battlefield. Traditional Jewry and its leaders must therefore continue to place greater and greater emphasis on scholarship and intellectual attainments.”

This was the statement made by Rabbi Uri Miller of Terre Haute, Indiana, president of the Rabbinical Association of the Hebrew Theological College, at the seventh annual conference of the association, which took place at the Hebrew Theological College building in Chicago. Rabbi Miller deplored the prevalence of the “quack-rabbi” and suggested a federation of Orthodox congregations as a means of curbing this evil. The creation of an endowment and pension fund was also recommended.

The convention was addressed by Rabbi Ch. Korb, head of the Talmudic department, who spoke concerning interpretations of various Talmudic conceptions. Dr. Meyer Waxman delivered a lecture on “Types of Schisms in Judaism.” A paper was read by Rabbi Jacob Greenberg, dean of the Hebrew Theological College, on “The Lunar Calendar in Jewish Law.” Current vital problems confronting world Jewry were discussed by Rabbi Saul Silber, president of the college.

Resolutions were passed endorsing the five-day week; all movements promoting world peace; the organization of federated charities; condemning racial discrimination and prejudice in employment and educational institutions; against any change in the calendar affecting the fixity of the Sabbath, and urging support of Jewish education.